Archive for 'Must See Attractions'

Feel like a sunny coastline holiday in Italy? Then look no further than the stunning Amalfi coast, a stunning stretch of land in Salerno province in the southern Italian region of Campania. In 1997, the Amalfi coastline won the lavish award of being a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its admirable beauty and rich natural diversity.

The Amalfi coast is scattered with quaint little seaside towns, many of which date back to the Middle Ages.

Be sure to visit some of them on your travels here; especially Amalfi and Ravello which are home to some magnificent artistic and architectural masterpieces!

Visitors will appreciate the perfect merging of man-made structures with nature along this stunning stretch of land and sea. Buildings were constructed to suit the natural rise and fall of coastal rock.

A ‘Palio’ is the name given to an annual athletic contest held in towns and cities across Italy where districts or ‘contrade’ of a particular area compete with each other in medieval sports like jousting, horse racing and archery to win a ‘palio’ or victory banner for that year. What used to be just a local rivalry event has transformed into a series of national tourist attractions!

Visitors come from all over the world every year, on different dates to enjoy the colourful spectacles on display during these festivities.

A Palio event usually lasts a few days and comprises of music filled streets, colourful banners, medieval style banquets and fairs. Why not stay in a lovely holiday villa rental in Siena or close to Asti where two of the best Palio events take place during the summer months?

Probably the best known Palio event in Italy is the Palio di Siena. It’s a thrilling bareback horse race between ten of the seventeen contrade in the city around the Piazza del Campo. The competition is fierce as the rivals are prepared to do whatever it take to cross the finishing line first; even if it means that a contrada’s horse has to complete it without its jockey! This exhilarating celebration takes place twice annually, on the 2nd of July and the 16th August.

If you’re holidaying in the Basilicata region in the south of Italy, it’s highly recommended to take at least a day to visit the city of Matera. Lower down the mountain from the modern city are the Sassi Di Matera which means ‘Stones of Matera’.

Why not enjoy a stay at a stunning holiday rental in the Apulia region, bordering Basilicata and embark on a thrilling day trip here?

This name refers to the ancient caves which were carved into the mountain rock on either side of a narrow valley below the modern city of Matera.

These Neolithic and Palaeolithic dated caves are the finest examples of troglodyte settlements in the Mediterranean area which demonstrated a perfect balance with nature with practically self sufficient ecosystems in place. Tourists will be amazed to learn that this unusual yet striking rock cut settlement has been habituated by humans for over two millennia!

Italy has the highest number of UNESCO world Heritage sites in the world!  Yes that's right, the world! At an astonishing number of 49, Italy reigns supreme in the area of cultural heritage. Spain is not far behind with 43 UNESCO sites, and China rests in 3rd place with 41.

The first official UNESCO site in Italy was "The Rock Drawings in Valcamonica" in 1979.

These are the largest collection of prehistoric petroglyphs in the world, with over 140,000 figures formally recognized by UNESCO and an increasing number discovered that would bring the total up to about 300,000 figures.